Middle East

Nations · Middle East

Middle East news on Israel, Gaza, Iran, and the Gulf: the conflicts and diplomacy reshaping the region.

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MIDDLE EAST

Pope Leo heads to France amid assisted dying, abuse debates

Al Jazeera

First papal state visit to country in 18 years comes as church confronts contentious issues.

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MIDDLE EAST

Israel’s Abu Farchi sent off for gun celebration in Nations League match

Al Jazeera

Israel footballer Sayed Abu Farchi was sent off for goal celebration mimicking shooting a gun in match against Austria.

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MIDDLE EAST

Jewish protestors join Free Palestine march to denounce Netanyahu

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera’s Emma Withrow reports from a Free Palestine march, where Jewish demonstrators rejected Netanyahu.

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MIDDLE EAST

Oil prices jump after Yemen’s Houthis claim attacks on Saudi facilities

Al Jazeera

Brent crude tops $106 a barrel after Iran-aligned rebel group claims to have successfully attacked Aramco facilities.

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MIDDLE EAST

Saudi, Turkish, Pakistani chiefs plan urgent talks amid Yemen fighting

Al Jazeera

Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan move to deepen defence coordination as Houthi attacks and Yemen fighting intensify.

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MIDDLE EAST

Contrasting treatment of Israel and Palestine on display at the UN

Al Jazeera

Israel’s Prime Minister addressed the UN General Assembly in person, despite having an ICC arrest warrant.

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MIDDLE EAST

UAE bars Iranian airlines as US sanctions squeeze Iran’s aviation sector

Al Jazeera

UAE joins Oman, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkmenistan in restricting access to Iranian airlines.

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MIDDLE EAST

Iran war live: Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani army chiefs plan urgent meeting

Al Jazeera

Saudi, Turkish, Pakistani army chiefs invoke Mecca pact for urgent talks over Houthi attacks.

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More Headlines

MIDDLE EAST

Microsoft pumps $10bn in Middle East AI and cloud infrastructure

Mobile Europe

MIDDLE EAST

Iran-US war latest: Tehran raises reopening Strait of Hormuz in 7 days as part of ‘phased’ end to war

The Independent

MIDDLE EAST

World leaders call for an end to Middle East fighting at UNGA

Modern Ghana

MIDDLE EAST

Allies unite behind Saudi Arabia as Houthis attacks rise

RTE.ie

MIDDLE EAST

Top Middle East leaders - Joseph Karam chief operating officer of Ishraq Hospitality

Breaking Travel News

MIDDLE EAST

Tel Aviv ranks highest in Middle East in new Oxford global cities index

The Jerusalem Post

MIDDLE EAST

Brent crude falls below $106 as US and Iran weigh phased Hormuz deal

Oil & Gas Middle East

MIDDLE EAST

Top Middle East leaders - Ahmed Ben Zaied cluster general manager of Sharjah Collection

Breaking Travel News

MIDDLE EAST

Iran's president says it is up to US to choose if it wants to end Iran war

LBCI Lebanon

MIDDLE EAST

Oil prices edge lower amid hopes for de-escalation in Middle East

سانا

MIDDLE EAST

Top Middle East leaders - Marco Mejia CEO of King Salman International Airport Development Company

Breaking Travel News

MIDDLE EAST

Memos From The Middle East: Fashion, Jewellery, Beauty and Dining News

Harper's Bazaar Arabia

MIDDLE EAST

GU’s Middle East Spending More Than Doubled in 4 Years

The Hoya

MIDDLE EAST

Colombia cuts ties with Iran as Middle East tensions spill into Latin America

AzerNews

MIDDLE EAST

Live Updates: Latest from Israel, Iran, and the Middle East

The Jerusalem Post

MIDDLE EAST

Middle East Violence Escalates as Iran and Joint US‑Israel Forces Launch New Missile & Drone Waves

News On AIR

MIDDLE EAST

The Houthi Advance In Yemen May Revive Israel-Saudi Relations

i24NEWS

About Middle East

What the region is, and what it is called

The Middle East is a term of external origin with no fixed boundary, generally taken to span western Asia and parts of north Africa, and often used interchangeably with overlapping labels that include and exclude different countries. The region contains Arab-majority states alongside Iran, Israel, Turkey and others, with Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Turkish and Kurdish among its major languages, and Islam, Christianity and Judaism all originating within it. Political systems range from hereditary monarchies to republics of several kinds. Place names themselves are contested in specific cases, with seas, cities and territories called different things by different parties as a matter of political position.

Energy, water and demography

Three material facts shape much of what happens. A large share of the world's proven oil and gas reserves lies in the region, which gives several states substantial revenue and gives outside powers a durable interest, and it is why producer coordination on output is consequential well beyond the region. Water is scarce, rivers and aquifers cross borders, and their allocation is a standing source of negotiation and friction. Populations in many countries are young, so employment, education and housing are central domestic pressures, and several economies are explicitly pursuing diversification away from hydrocarbon revenue.

States, non-state actors and outside powers

Coverage here involves parties of several different kinds, and conflating them causes confusion. Sovereign states act through governments and armed forces. Armed non-state organizations hold territory, provide services and participate in politics in several countries, and are designated differently by different governments, which is a political judgment rather than a neutral classification. Outside powers maintain bases, supply weapons and broker agreements. Long-running disputes in the region are the subject of active disagreement about history, law and legitimacy, and Trill News covers them by attributing claims to whoever is making them rather than adopting any party's framing as the neutral one.

Reading coverage of a contested region

Few subjects are reported with more scrutiny of the reporting itself, and some habits help. Vocabulary is frequently the argument in miniature, since the words chosen for territories, borders, groups and events encode positions, and no available term is neutral to every party. Casualty figures and incident accounts often come from parties to a dispute or from ministries within them, and independent verification lags. Diaspora communities, external governments and advocacy organizations all participate in shaping coverage. The practical approach is to notice who is speaking and what they are in a position to know, rather than to look for a source with no perspective at all, because none exists.